Category Archives: Design

What’s The Agenda went off with a big festival BOOM, bringing in creative people from all over the city to create, instigate, and talk about art for social change.

“Occupying mac’s Foyle Studio for the duration of the festival, an array of installations and performances awaited those who entered. Haiku poetry, immersive theatre, sculpture, film and visual arts exhibition Side View were just some of the vessels employed here to investigate when art becomes a political act and how creativity can incite positive social change; a mixing pot which lay testament to both the collectives’ broad range of skills and the breadth of mac’s support for the regions diverse creative future.

Drawing in a variety of changemakers throughout the weekend, the final flourish was spoken word event Bare Bones and post-show discussion debate.4.social.change (DB84SC) with Birmingham gems Vanley Burke, Zia Ahmed, Jodi Ann Bickley and Immy Kaur making up the panel. An achievement in itself, the evening not only gave brand spanking new performers a stage and an audience, but created a meaningful discussion with the public about themes raised throughout What’s The Agenda? – loneliness, heritage and gender issues – acting as the exclamation and question mark at the end of a collective statement.”

A festival of visual art, performance and debate curated by mac birmingham’s next generation of artists, Cannon Hill Collective (CHC). Working with producer Amy Martin and social provocateurs Stan’s Cafe, CHC have created a unique programme of events at mac fuelled by a united desire to incite positive social change and explore when art becomes a political act.

Archival Activismevokes responses, prompts anecdotes and defies assumptions surrounding heritage and identity, subverting society’s box-ticking mindset.The more we learn about ourselves, the better we can relate to one another. Share the story of your heritage on twitter @ArchivalActBare BonesA dynamic and thought-provoking evening of spoken word and performance poetry, hitchhiking through the themes discussed in What’s The Agenda?BEACON
A hive of activity housing and encouraging creative happenings, the structure will be redeveloped and transformed over the course of the event, inviting audience interaction and investigation by mirroring the possibility for change found within it.

DB84SC is an ongoing discussion platform running both on and offline during What’s The Agenda? culminating in a live debate for you to have your say. @DB84Movement

The Hikikomori
New media provides us with an eternal eye on the world that surrounds us, so why should we leave the comfort of our own walls? Step into The Hikikomori to visualise a life alone.

Side View looks past media influence to how sexual objectification affects everyday interactions and perspectives of the opposite sex. Through film and visual art the project explores responses to sexual objectification and the role gender continues to play in today’s world.

So It Goes
A film that explores whether society’s ‘big’ issues are actually the issues we need to be focusing on and whether history is simply repeating itself. See the film in full online here.

New collaborative commissions for young people and emerging artists aged 16-24yrs at mac birmingham

Deadline for submissions: 1st March 2014

Cannon Hill Café is a new programme aiming to develop emerging artists by offering young people aged between 16-24yrs the chance to engage and connect with mac birmingham: by initiating, producing and delivering their own events.

The aim of these commissions is to encourage new and meaningful creative collaborations as part of theNext Gen programme at mac birmingham and to create roles for young people as producers, curators, programmers, artists and leaders. Offering young people resources including, space, production support and funds to make creative work, collaborate and test out ideas.

• An outline of what you’d like to do – your ideas and how you would create a new one off event at mac for young people

• An indication of who you would like to collaborate with or programme, and how you intend to engage your audience

Please note your event must suit a public space café with limited tech resources. You will have access to a sound and light PA, projector, screen and technician. Your event must be on either 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th May or 3rd June between 5pm-8pm. Your event must be a minimum of 1 hour to a maximum of 3 hours in duration.
Successful shortlisted applicants will be asked to pitch their idea on Saturday 15th March 2014.
We understand that proposals will be subject to change and development.
We are happy to receive proposals as video, audio files, or web-based applications.

To help you to develop your application you can sign up to the following free Cannon Hill Lectures in events management and/or take part in an information surgery. Further information below.

#CannonHillLectures

From Set Up to Clean Up, a crash course in Events Management Pt 1 with Amy Martin

Thu 30 Jan, 6pm-8pm | Free | Hexagon Theatre

Planning an event, exhibition, party or workshop? Need help getting started? Then this crash course in Events Management is for you. You will explore the planning process, going step by step through the different elements, along the way creating a useful timeline. You will look at how to get people to attend your event and how to manage the process from set up to clean up.

From Set Up to Clean Up, a crash course in Events Management Pt 2 with Amy Martin

Thu 6 Feb, 6pm-8pm | Free | Hexagon Theatre

Building on from Pt 1 this lecture offers a practical guide to Events Management. You’ll leave with a toolkit that will help you organise future events, the confidence to get started and the skills to manage the process from set up to clean up.

If you applied to be part of Cannon Hill Collective with mac, Birmingham, please keep an eye on your email, we will be inviting shortlisted applicants to a recruitment workshop on Friday 28 September from 4 to 6pm.

For mac’s full programme and further opportunities check the IdeasTap partner’s page – mac, Birmingham.

mac birmingham is looking for a group of 20 young people, aged 16 to 24, to be part of mac’s cannon hill collective. You can be from any creative discipline but you must be based in the West Midlands.

As part of the collective, you will come up with new ideas and develop projects from scratch, putting your stamp on mac’s fantastic arts programme.

During six months spent working alongside professionals from the field, you will be introduced to top notch art, have access to mac’s events and artists, and devise original work to share with young people across the region and beyond.

In the process, you will sharpen your project coordination, leadership and teamwork skills and gain confidence in decision-making, boosting your creative abilities.

The collective will run from 1 October 2012 to April 2013, meeting one evening each week (with a break over Christmas) and at additional events as required.

The cannon hill collective is part of the Next Generation strand at mac birmingham, which celebrates work made by, with and for young people, to discover and nurture the Next Generation of creative talent. The cannon hill collective is supported by the Monument Trust and IdeasTap.

Interested? Fill out the application form and tell us why you want to be part of the collective! Shortlisted applicants will be invited to an open interview at mac birmingham on Friday 28 September, 4 to 6pm.

Post navigation

Next Generation

The Cannon Hill Collective offers young people aged 16-24 the chance to engage and connect with mac birmingham’s programme. From initiating, producing and delivering their own projects to advising on mac’s wider young people’s programme.